Carton



Feb. 26, 1963 M. YEzEK 3,079,063A

CARTON Filed Feb. 8. 1960 FIGLSLl INVENTOR Mllfon Yezek ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent dce 3,92%,953 Patented Feb 2h, 1953 3,079,063 CARTONMilton Yea'eir, iattle Creek, Mich., assigner to General Foodstorporation, White Plains, NFI., a corporation of Deiaware Filed Feb. 8,1969, Ser. No. 7,487 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-17) This invention relates to animproved carton for dried, comminnted material and to an improved blankfrom which the carton may be formed.

'Cartons embodying the invention are similar in many respects to thecarton disclosed and claimed in my prior Patent No. 2,933,230, being ofthe so-called pouringspcut type with top end and side aps of novelconiiguration and appropriately scored and cut so that when the Said topaps are bent and/or broken upon the indicated weakened lines and thecarton opened, one of the top end aps and the adjacent end of one topside flap together form a pouring spout at one corner for ready removalof the contents of the package, said spout being fold-able to reclosethe carton. Provision is made in the opposite top side flap for a.ciosure ilap which may be folded downwardly over the pouring spoutsection when it is collapsed to provide a more positive closure for thecarton and also a means for securing the rlaps in closed position.

The invention contemplates a simpliicd and highly ciicient opening andreclosure structure at one extremity of the carton top which may bereadily opened by the consnmer for the removal of the desired quantityof the contents and which may then be tightly reclosed after the desiredquantity has been removed.

The rec osare feature of the carton is most important to maintain goodmoisture protection once the carton is opened. in the case otnon-moisture protective cartons, the reclosure feature prevents spillingof the contents after opening and reclosure of the carton.

It is therefore an object of this invention to evolve a novel andimproved readily openable carton structure which will provide a pouringspout for the removal of the contents after the upper closure flap.thereof has been raised.

lt is a further' object of this invention to provide novel reclosuremeans for the carton whereby it'can be tightly reclosed after removal'of the desired kquantity of the contents.

A"It/'ith the aoove objects in view, the invention, generally stated,resides in a carton having side and end wall panels and top closing apsarranged to provide a preferably rectangular top opening at one corner.Hinged to the top edges of the side and end wall panels at said cornerare hap extensions which form the two sides of a corner pouring spoutand which are foldably connected so as to fold downwardiy and to lie datin said opening, preferably with sucient area to substantially close theopening. For. example, a vertical folding connection between the liapextensions at the corner of the carton together with a diagonal foldline across one or the other flap extension, will enable a bellows-typefold to be made.

The upper layer of the bellows or otherwise folded flap extensions isprovided with a locking slit and a swingable cover is foldably orhingedly secured to the inner edge of said opening which extends betweenthe side wall panels so as to swing downwardly over the folded flapextensions and close said opening. A tab on said cover is arranged toenter said slit and thus to lock the cover in reclosed position afteruse, and in new cartons the cover is adhesively or otherwise secured tosaid upper layer of folded material with said tab lying dat over theslit.

Referring to the drawings,

PEG. 1 is a plan View showing a form or" blank from which a cartonembodying the invention can be formed;

VFiG. 2 shows a closed and sealed carton made from the blank of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the carton of FIG. 2 opened with its pouring spoutextended;

FIG. 4 is a detail view on the line d-4 of FIG. 2 showing the carton ofFIG. 2 in closed condition; and

FIG. 5 is a detail view similar to FIG. 4 showing the carton in reclosedcondition.

FIGS. 1 5 inclusive sho-w `an embodiment of the invention in which theblank comprises foldably connected sections 33, 39, 4o, 4l and 42. FlG.1 shows only the upper end of the blank, the lower end beingconventional. The upper end of each yof the panels 33, 39, 40 and 4i isprovided with a flap extension 43, 44, and 46 respectively, eachextension being connected to its associated panel by a fold line 47.Flaps 45 and 46 are sepanated from each other by a cut indicated at 43,and aps 44 and 45 are similarly separated by a cut" indicated at 49, butflaps 43 and 44 are integral with one another, being foldably connectedby the fold line Sil similar to the fold line 25 of FIG. l of my priorpatent referred to above.

The side iiap e6 is cut away at the end of the blank as indicated lat 51to orm a tab 52, and the end section 53 on which the tab 52 is formed isfoldably connected with the remainder of the side flap i6 by means of afold line 54, and is detachably connected with the side wall panel 41 bymeans of a tear line 55 shown in dotted lines. "Ihus by grasping the tabS2, the end section S3 can be torn loose from the side wall panel ilalong the line 55 and lifted up relative thereto, bending relative tothe iiap 46 about the fold line 54 which acts as a hinge.

The opposite side flap 4d is similarly provided with an end section 56that is detachabiy connected with the remainder of the ilap 44 by meansof the tear line 57 shown in dotted lines. This end section 56 is alsoprovided with "a locking slit Sti.

As already mentioned, end section 5o is i'oldably conand said end flap43 is provided with a diagonal score line S9 to provide for abellowsatype fold such as described in my prior patent mentioned above,the corner of the end flap being cut away at 6d in the same manner andfor the same reasons. Finger notches di in the edge oi' the end section56 and in the edge of the end ap 43 are arranged so as to be in registrywhen the carton is closed.

FiGS. 2 and 4 show the carton in the closed and sealed condition inwhich it is offered for sale to the consumer. The end section 53 iscoplanar with the remainder of the side flap i6 and lies dat over thebellows-folded end iiap n 43 and end section 5o with the tab 52projecting toward the end of the carton and covering the slit S8. Whenit is desired to use part or all of the contents of the carton, the tab52 is grasped and pulled upwardly so as to lift the end section 53,breaking its adhesive or other connection with the underlyingbellows-folded section and tearing it away from the side wall di alongthe tear line 5S, said entire end section 53 being thus foldableupwardly about the hinge line 54. This position of the end section isshown in perspective in FIG. 3. It will be evident that when the endsection S3 has been so lifted and folded bach, the bellows-folded endsection Se and end ilap 43 can be lifted up by inserting a linger in theregistering Enger notches di to the position shown in FIG. 3 yin whichsaid two members 56 and :3 form the two sides of a trough-like pouringspout at the corner of the carton.

As soon as the desired amount of the contents of the car-ton have beendispensed, the spout structure can be folded downwardly by pushinginwardly along the bellows-fold line 59 so as to fold the spoutstructure back into the overlapping condition shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.Preferably the area of the folded structure is such as

1. IN A CARTON, A CARTON FORMING BLANK HAVING SIDE AND END WALL PANELS,EXTENSIONS ON SAID PANELS FORMING TOP CLOSING FLAPS FOR SAID CARTON,SAID TOP CLOSING FLAPS INCLUDING SIDE CLOSING FLAPS AND END CLOSINGFLAPS, ONE OF SAID SIDE CLOSING FLAPS INCLUDING AN END SECTION DEFINEDTHEREIN BY A FOLD LINE EXTENDING ACROSS SAID FLAP AND BY A WEAKENED LINECONNECTING SAID END SECTION WITH SAID SIDE WALL PANEL, AN OPPOSED SIDEFLAP AND AN END FLAP MADE INTEGRAL AND FOLDABLY CONNECTED WITH EACHOTHER, SAID OPPOSED SIDE FLAP BEING PROVIDED WITH AN END SECTIONOPPOSITE SAID FIRST END SECTION AND DEFINED THEREIN BY A WEAKENED LINE,SAID INTEGRAL END FLAP BEING PROVIDED WITH A DIAGONAL BELLOWS FOLD LINEFROM THE CORNER OF THE CARTON TO THE OUTER FREE CORNER OF SAID END FLAPWHEREBY SAID INTEGRAL SIDE AND END FLAPS MAY BE FOLDED DOWNWARDLY UNDERSAID FIRST SIDE FLAP, SAID OPPOSED SIDE FLAP AND END SECTION AND SAIDFIRST NAMED SIDE FLAP AND END SECTION EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY ACROSS THETOP OF THE CARTON IN SUPERPOSED OVERLAPPING RELATION AND BEING SECUREDTOGETHER SUBSTANTIALLY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE AREA OF THE TOP OF THECARTON, THE END SECTION OF SAID OPPOSED SIDE FLAP HAVING A LOCKING SLITDISPOSED PARALLEL TO BUT SPACED FROM THE TOP EDGE OF SAID END WALL PANELWHEN THE END SECTION IS FOLDED DOWN INTO THE PLANE OF THE CARTON TOP,THE FREE EDGE OF THE END SECTION OF THE FIRST NAMED SIDE FLAP BEING CUTBACK TO FORM A TAB PROJECTING COEXTENSIVELY WITH THE END OF THE CARTONAND LYING FLAT ON THE TOP OF SAID FOLDED-DOWN END SECTION COVERING SAIDSLIT, SAID WEAKENED LINES PROVIDING MEANS WHEREBY SAID CARTON MAY BEOPENED BY GRASPING THE TAB AND PULLING UP THE UPPER END SECTION ANDFOLDING IT BACK ON THE HINGE PROVIDED BY SAID FIRST NAMED FOLD LINE ANDTHEN BY PULLING UP THE LOWER END SECTION TO FORM A POURING SPOUT AT ONEOF ITS CORNERS, SAID LOWER END SECTION AND INTEGRAL BELLOWSFOLDED ENDFLAP BEING REFOLDABLE DOWNWARDLY UNDER SAID UPPER END SECTION AND SAIDTAB BEING INSERTABLE IN SAID SLIT TO MAINTAIN THEM IN RECLOSED POSITION.